WASHINGTON: The Kellogg Company has agreed to investigate into its claims about the health benefits of its Rice Krispies cereal and abide by the advertising restrictions, the Federal Trade Commission informed. As per the agreement with the Commission, Kellogg will also investigate into claims that another cereal, Frosted Mini-Wheats, was “clinically shown to improve kids’ attentiveness by nearly 20 percent.”
The commission acted against Kellogg after public health researchers and obesity opponents stepped up their efforts to challenge to the marketing of sugary foods.
“We expect more from a great American company than making dubious claims — not once, but twice — that its cereals improve children’s health,” Jon Leibowitz, the chairman of the F.T.C., said in a statement.
Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University, said described the commission’s act as unusual, as such matters were generally taken up by the Food and Drug Administration.
Last summer, Kellogg launched product packaging claiming that Rice Krispies “now helps support your child’s immunity” and that the cereal “has been improved to include antioxidants and nutrients that your family needs to help them stay healthy.”
In the agreement covering Frosted Mini-Wheats, Kellogg had agreed not to make claims about benefits to “cognitive health, process or function provided by any cereal or any morning food or snack food” until it proved its claims with substantial evidence. The new expanded order bars the company from making “claims about any health benefit of any food unless the claims are backed by scientific evidence and not misleading.”
In a statement, Kellogg, based in Battle Creek, Mich., said it had “a long history of responsible advertising,” but did not specifically address the latest accusations.
“We stand behind the validity of our product claims and research, so we agreed to an order that covers those claims,” the company said. “We believe that the revisions to the existing consent agreement satisfied any remaining concerns.”
